LANDSCAPE YOYR GARDEN FOR OUTDOOR LIVING

Press, 24 April 1980, Page 24

LANDSCAPE YOYR GARDEN FOR OUTDOOR LIVING

When landscaping a garden for outdoor living a plan will be followed which will place emphasis on • certain sections of your garden for specific areas of entertainment. One of the areas will probably be set aside for barbcuing—the modem way to entertain and certainly the answer to outdoor entertainment. Barbecues, of course, are . many and varied and range from portable charcoal and gas burners to the more elaborate permanently constructed versions which have become a popular addition for many gardens. When sitting down to pick out a type of barbeuce that fits your family, your final selection wiU be influenced by several factors, your family, daily way of living, climate, the practical functions that you expect a barbecue to perform, and the cost you feel you can afford. If you decide on a permanently built barbecue, one of your main considerations will be appearance. It's hard to set up any rules as to style and appearance: if your home is simple and rustic, choose a

simple barbecue design. If your house and garden are formal, a carefully designed architectural composition is in order. Just keep the barbecue style consistent with the rest of the house. Beware of a design that will dominate your garden—a tall unit may look at home among trees, but gaunt and .ill at ease among low plantings. Select materials that harmonise with those already embedded in existing garden masonry, your house, or other buildings on your section. The next step is to look over your garden—and pick out the most livable spot in it. Wherever your family likes to gather, that's the place to put your barbecue. It might ba a spread of bank lawn, a terrace or patio, an indooroutdoor room, a garden house, or a sheltered porch. If you have a swimming pool, you will probably want the barbecue in close proximity. It may be that you can use the installation to redeem some section of the garden which is not very attractive—say, a dusty vegetable patch the children aban-

doned, or a bleak side wall of the garage. Maybe you can convert your service yard or even the driveway into an outdoor room. And if you have a hillside section, it may be in need of a retaining wall—an excellent structure to combine with a barbecue.

Wherever you put it, allow enough level area for dining and for working around the barbecue.

Your barbecue area should have positive protection from wind and sun. As a matter of fact, there are few localities where a barbecue can be enjoyed for many months of the year without some form of weather control. Sometimes, a barbecue unit will be built in the open air, and after a few months it will begin to gather windscreens around itself, then a permanent wall or two, followed by an openwork room which later closes over, until, finally, _ the barbecue vanishes inside a completely enclosed shelter. Your site should take full advantage of existing protections, such as the side of the house, wall of the garage or potting shed, or a corner where a wing

meets the main house. Planted windscreens or existing fences will help if they provide relief from the late slanting rays of the sun. Trees furnish fine natural shelter, although low-hanging branches can be damaged by the smoke and heat from an open fire. Charcoal grills, however, do them no harm.

If your garden climate is gentle enough so you don’t have to wall-in your barbecue, face the unit into the prevailing breeze or sideways to it or to ensure good draft. Some builders recommend side exposure because it prevents too the barbecue, and the It is well to remember that a good part of a barbecue meal is prepared in the kitchen, brought out to the barbecue, and the "remains” returned to the kitchen afterward. Ideally, this shuttle-service should be routed over level paths, to avoid carrying loaded trays across uncertain ground.